Sunday, December 11, 2011

Big Tom & Lavender Farm

BIG TOM

I want to tell you about a tomato juice that I have fallen in love with over the past couple of years. I discovered it in a specialty store when I was served a Bloody Mary over the holidays while browsing the store. It's called "Big Tom" Spiced Tomato Juice. OMG! The best I have tasted. This picture is a big bottle of it (for me). They sell it in small individual bottles also which I have packaged and tied on a small bottle of Smirnoff vodka for a personal little Bloody Mary toddy gift. It looks really cute wrapped up in red together.

They list all kind of ways to use it in recipes (Gazpacho, Red Snapper a few to mention). It has just the right amount of spices and celery, peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and is very low sodium. Their beverage company is in Bristol, Tennessee (another made in America).

I have a secret room during the holidays. Tables are stacked holding the "secret treasures" and packaging with bows and ribbons and bright colored papers for the holidays. No one is to enter this room until I give the word to begin the transfer to the next room, which will be under the tree. To say it's a little crazy in there, would be wayyyy to nice ... it is "Outrageous" in the secret room this time of year.

I made a trip to the Sunshine Lavender Farm's (http://sunshinelavenderfarm.com/) open house for the holidays yesterday. Annie, the owner, is just adorable and has the cutest cottage home that was decorated Christmas-adorable. The heavenly smell of her lavender gifts filled the rooms. You would not believe the taste of lavender infused hot chocolate. She served that along with some favorite cookies and chocolates. Of couse, she had sold out of the mix by the time I arrived. But ... I did bring home her lavender brownie mix. What a special Christmas treat that will be!!

I didn't win a darn thing in the gift drawings, so I went home sad about that, but the visit to her lavender farm was Christmas-inspiring. Her lavender was sleeping for the winter but when summer comes all of this will be full, full, full of those long stems of purple.

I like a good Bloody Mary once in awhile! The mix is the key to the perfect one. I'll have to see if my store carries Big Tom.

How niice that you have a room devoted to Christmas wrapping. I have to haul everything out to the kitchen once the coast is clear and then put it all away. And it goes from the store to being wrapped because I have some peekers here!! lol!

I can smell the lavender from here. You have to go back for pictures when everything is blooming!!

I'm ashamed to say but...I'm a gift bag giver. I am a horrible gift wrapper. Last year my 17 year old daughter wrapped all the gifts for me (even her sewing machine, which she chose) I am depending on her again this year for gift wrapping duty! :)

I don't know anything about bloody-mary's, but I do know that I love lavendar, it's one of my favorites, and I can never get enough of it--What a great place to visit!

By the way, I passed your white chicken chili recipe onto a co-worker of mine. Her Mother is in the final stage of cancer and nothing tastes good to her--She made her some chili, and she loved it!!! YAY!! :-)

I'm so far behind in my blog reading, but wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas! Love your decorations! I used to have an off limits room at Christmas too.... not this year though. No decorations for me in the rental; it'll all have to wait until next year!Grace

About Me

My name is Debi. I live in the middle of 40 acres in a farm house my husband and I purchased and renovated 11 years ago; truly our Shangri-La. We're busy folks operating a family business, and working with horses, taking care of pasture, gardening, and still trying to maintain our sanity. If you own a business and have horses, livestock, and/or other fur children, then you know how hard it is to get away ~ vacation often doesn't exist! So,we bring the fun to the farm enjoying friends (and lots of them) whenever we can. It's a crazy life - never dull. So jump in anytime. I love the connection with you. Love ya, Debi